Our Lady of Zion

"Pray for peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure." — Psalm 122:6

Our favorite holy card illustrates the hope we hold as Christians that the door to heaven will be opened to the soul refined by love. It is the refinement of the soul by divine love that the art of the holy cards helps us to contemplate. The card has an engaving of the dove in flight into the mystery of Trinitarian love. The Uncreated Light overlaid by the symbol for the Holy Trinity is at the heart of the card. The writings of the early fathers, as well as those of the the Carmelite saints and Christian mystics throughout the ages - both in the Church in the east and the west - help us to approach the mystery of Trinitarian love not only as the theological underpinning of Christian belief but also as the action of the Spirit of Love in and through which we live and move and have our being.

As the sunflower turns toward the sun, so my heart turns toward God.

WELCOME TO HOLY CARD HEAVEN

One of our favorite holy cards says simply, "Heaven is the home of loving souls." In a way, an album of holy cards is like a little heaven; the truth that inspired the cards greets us anew with each tender image, and we feel at home. Little by little I hope to bring together a collection of this gentle faith art for the delight and comfort of any loving soul who happens by.

Ethereal messengers of God's Love and Light, the small engravings that gather here fly in day by day. Little paper shrines that shelter the sacred, they are gathered here in the hope of sharing their beauty and meaning with another generation. To those who love them, they have much to give; like time spent in a restful garden, they are a feast for the eyes and a feast for the soul.

This gentle art can be used today to enter safely into the inner landscape allowing its imagery to guide the soul. Visual poetry employing symbol and metaphor as carriers of meaning, the path to which they invite us is always one in which God's own Love leads the way.

You can click on an image to enlarge it and see the artist's loving attention to detail. It is especially meaningful to be able to see the faces at a higher resolution. In many of the images, the sweetness of expression is at once joyful and serious, and, for a brief moment, we seem to draw close to the Presence of pure goodness, pure happiness.

The blessing I ask for any who come this way is again taken from a favorite holy card: "May a tender Friendship surround you always, and may all your days be a smile of heaven."Fr. François Fénelon

About the Cards in this Collection

While some are from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands or other parts of Europe, Paris was perhaps the main place of publication. Dates are seldom available but most are from the mid 1800's to the close of that century. The depiction of persons is Eurocentric, but the symbols in the early holy cards are universal and inclusive: the image of the Heart as symbol for the incarnation of divine love, the image of the small bird as a symbol for the human soul eager but fragile and in constant need of God's love and care, the Living Water, the garden enclosed, the door that opens into Light... through visual poetry, the early holy cards continue to speak a language that reaches across the barriers of time and space and can be received by everyone.

words to love...

ENLARGING THE HEARTThese daily offerings are the gracious work of Mark Armitage to whom we owe a great dept of gratitude. He gathers as one, the writings on Christian love drawn from writers both in the Church in the East and in the West ~ all speak to the centrality of love, to the place of the heart in the Christian faith.

SAINTS' PRAYERSDaily selections of prayers, quotations and books by the saints are gathered together thanks to the work of J.W. a devout Catholic layman.

Scheduling of the Cards and the Small Albums

Holy Card Heaven enters its seventh year on the first Sunday in Advent, 2015. Day by day the cards will continue to be moved into the new church year depending for their placement on the dates of the movable feasts and seasons. This way no cards need get lost in the distant past, new cards can be added, and we can appreciate the collection a little differently with each passing year.Small Albums, each with a different topic, will change from month to month and will be linked in the top right column.

dedication

Carmel of the Mother of God

A vocation to Carmel?

Do you or someone you love feel called to the contemplative life? The Discalced Carmelite Sisters offer a way of life that is hidden and holy and beautiful. Here's a link to their website:The Carmel of the MotherVocations

Embrace of Sts. Peter and Andrew

Icon of Brothers St. Andrew the First called Apostle and Peter, his brother. The embrace of St. Andrew and St. Peter is a precious symbol of the deeply desired unity between Eastern and Western Christians.

Small Album ~ Advent

First Daily Holy Card Site

Holy Cards for Your Inspiration, the first daily holy card site in the USA, brought its gentle light each morning into my life and into the lives of countless others. Sadly the site is now closed. but its creator has kindly archived the entries.

Creative Commons License

Many have written to ask if they can use images from our collection in their public ministry or in their design work. Our advice is to read carefully the Creative Commons License. Many of our pieces are in the public domain, and works that are the public domain carry no restrictions. The Creative Commons website offers guidance in helping determine whether or not material is in the public domain and thus free to work with in a creative way. We wish the best for those who use those images that are in the public domain in a way that is a blessing to others.